Bertrand Traore unlikely to be sold by Aston Villa amid transfer interest – The Athletic
Aston Villa forward Bertrand Traore may be loaned out next season but it is unlikely that the club allow him to leave permanently, The Athletic reports.
The 26-year-old former Lyon attacker struggled badly with injuries during the 2021/22 season, leading manager Steven Gerrard to admit he was “super frustrated” in late April [Express & Star] after another problem.
He was restricted to only 10 appearances in all competitions across the entire campaign, going goalless, a year after featuring 38 times.
He has reportedly got the attention of Turkish giants Fenerbahce but the Villans are not planning to sell him, and may even keep him next season.
Gregg Evans writes in The Athletic: “Bertrand Traore is a player attracting interest but a permanent move to Fenerbahce is unlikely.
“It’s undecided at this stage whether Villa will allow Traore to leave on loan or give him the opportunity to impress after an injury-hit season in 2021-22.”
Retained
With the big-name arrivals at the club in recent months, and apparently not yet over, the Burkina Faso international may have been overlooked.
But Gerrard looks like he sees enough quality in him that the frustration felt during the recently-completed season was strong.
If he is sent on loan then he will need to perform strongly otherwise this conversation will likely arise next summer, and a year out of sight and out of mind won’t be brilliant for his long-term prospects at the club.
If he can show something during pre-season and convince the coaching staff he has regained enough fitness to be able to offer a threat then, to coin a tired cliché, he might be as good as a new signing for the manager, who is yet to see him for an extended stretch.
Gerrard’s views on most of his attacking players seem to be fairly fluid, outside of probably Philippe Coutinho, as Leon Bailey and Emi Buendia’s futures in the ranks are not set in stone, and Danny Ings played second fiddle to Ollie Watkins for most of the time under the former England captain, but Watkins himself has been mooted as a possible big-money exit to West Ham [Guardian].
In other Aston Villa news, a pair of players are attracting interest from Watford.